From The Rickenbacker Forum As Stated By John Hall:Turtle Wax #123- $2.99 a bottle and it works wonderfully.

From the Rickenbacker Owner’s Manual:Polish using any non-abrasive pure carnauba based auto wax if the finish becomes stained or dull. Inexpensive Turtle Wax ® T-123 mixed 50/50 with water works better than most available specialty guitar polishes. Wipe in a circular motion at the speed which is slow enough to see small water bubbles form but fast enough to remove the polish completely before drying.-------------------------------------------------------Please feel free to add other maintenance tips here.

Steve

Great thread, and well worth keeping it in the public eye!

I've tried both the Turtle Wax T-123 and Jingle-Jangle's Scratch X/Zymol treatment. I think the Scratch X/Zymol treatment works better because the Scratch X seems to remove any layers of "crud" which have built up on the finish, whereas the Turtle Wax just seems to cover it without removing it. Again, this is my personal experience, others may have had different results.

Guitar Nut Adjustments(From The Rickenbacker Forum As Stated By buchrob and BlueAngel)

(From bushrob)Crazy glue gel mixed with baking soda using a toothpick; add sparingly to the low slot. Let dry overnight then re-file. Needless to say, you should put down something protective such as masking tape on the adjacent areas.

(From BlueAngel)I use superglue and a small piece of absorbent paper for this - a bit of the typical string packet material is just right - the result is a composite material that's actually as hard as the plastic and holds up very well.

Cut a square of paper about 1/8" square, fold it in half around your fingernail, put a little drop of glue in the slot, place the paper in the slot and use the string (still under tension) to clamp it in. Wait a couple of minutes then take the string out again, and add another small drop of glue to soak the top side of the paper. When this has set too, use a sharp knife to trim as much of the paper away as possible without taking it out of the bottom of the slot, and if necessary a nut file to smooth it out or remove a tiny bit of height if this has raised it too much. You can also use some black ink (CD marker pen is fairly durable) to make it invisible on a black nut :-).

I do this quite often on vintage guitars where it will compromise the originality and value to replace the nut. I don't normally do it if more than three slots need to be raised. At that point you're better to raise the nut from underneath or replace it. Once it's filed down smoothly it performs as well as the original nut and is pretty much undetectable.

_________________"A Splendid Time Is Guaranteed For All"

buchrob

Post subject: Re: Rickenbacker Maintenance and Tips

Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 8:47 am

Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:49 pmPosts: 573Location: Stanstead, QC

Re-stringing a 12-----

Make sure that the main G-string is a .20 wound.

Not many commercial sets contain these, and switching to another gauge is a recipe for intonation problems. Different gauge strings will ride the nut in an improper position and probably make you feel like doing a Pete Townshend after spending all this money on a quality guitar...

Rather like buying a Ferrari and then running down to CheapieTireDiscountWarehouse in an effort to "experiment" with other sizes and qualities of rubber without understanding why specific gear ratios in the transmission were chosen.

The only strings I trust are the Ric originals and the TI custom flat set sold by POTR. Beyond that, things can still work, but be prepared to file and sand.

And then probably repeat or spring for a new nut when you go back to factory specs.

clawmute

Post subject: Re: Rickenbacker Maintenance and Tips

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 5:19 am

Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2006 3:48 amPosts: 81Location: Ohio

Quote:

RESTRINGING A 12 STRING RICKENBACKER

When replacing strings, I replace first the slotted strings followed by the others. Before that, whether I am using the "R" tailpiece or the Trapeze tailpiece, I place all of the strings in the slots and place a small piece of masking tape on the bottom side or the tailpiece (Especially the "R" tailpiece) to hold them in place and place a cotton diaper underneath to keep the tailpiece from scratching the body. I then place a Kyser Capo with a weakened spring around the 5th or 6th fret to hold everything in place.The actual order that I restring is:11-2-9-4-7-6-12-1-10-3-8-5The reason I do it this way is to balance the "R" or the Trapeze tailpiece while restringing. This works for me and it takes about 15–20 minutes with the older style slotting. On the newer through the neck slotting, the time is about the same for me.

RESTRINGING A 6 STRING RICKENBACKER

Restringing the 6 string Rickenbacker with the "R" or Trapeze tailpiece is essentially the same as above using the masking tape, cotton diaper, and the Kyser Capo.The order that I restring is:6-1-5-2-4-3Again, this keeps the tailpiece in place and balanced.

That was how I restrung my Rics until I read somewhere on this forum that removing all the strings at once for restringing would lead to the dreaded "rubberneck". Please let me know which method (all at once vs. one string at a time) is correct! The above method is so much easier, especially for 12-string.GoJamGo

buchrob

Post subject: Re: Rickenbacker Maintenance and Tips

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 8:14 am

Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:49 pmPosts: 573Location: Stanstead, QC

If you are going to do this all in one session, and not ship the guitar via FedEx to Antarctica in between steps, there is NO harm in getting rid of all the old stuff, then restringing from the "outside ---> in", just to keep the tailpiece in balance and avoid a few extra re-tuning steps.

As a refinement, some of us who are mechanically inclined would suggest outside, outside, middle, then fill in the rest working from the outside to the middle alternately to keep the load on the tailpiece balanced.

By the way, don't be shy to give each string a good solid PULL before final tuning.

The diaper as a scratchguard and blue low-adhesive masking tape to hold the strings in the slots are indispensable. The low-tension capo can be replaced by a rubber band slipped over the 3rd fret.

Tying the correct knot is an important step to success in life, but perhaps I digress...

I guess that I'm "Old School" when it comes to the string winds on the tuners. All that "I do is feed the string through the hole and the first wind goes above the threaded string while the rest go below. This holds the string in place with no knot necessary. The thinner the string, the more winds around the post.

_________________"A Splendid Time Is Guaranteed For All"

iiipopes

Post subject: Re: Rickenbacker Maintenance and Tips

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:32 am

Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:07 amPosts: 3755

Quote:

I guess that I'm "Old School" when it comes to the string winds on the tuners. All that "I do is feed the string through the hole and the first wind goes above the threaded string while the rest go below. This holds the string in place with no knot necessary. The thinner the string, the more winds around the post.

This has always worked for me. On the skinny strings, if the post is long enough, I don't even go the one up, just make sure they are trimmed so the winds are even, without kinks or overlaps.

buchrob

Post subject: Re: Rickenbacker Maintenance and Tips

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:54 am

Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:49 pmPosts: 573Location: Stanstead, QC

Quote:

Quote:

I guess that I'm "Old School" when it comes to the string winds on the tuners. All that "I do is feed the string through the hole and the first wind goes above the threaded string while the rest go below. This holds the string in place with no knot necessary. The thinner the string, the more winds around the post.

This has always worked for me. On the skinny strings, if the post is long enough, I don't even go the one up, just make sure they are trimmed so the winds are even, without kinks or overlaps.

I actually prefer the Old School method when I have more than 2 hands at my disposal. It gives a neater, cleaner appearance. Tying the knot and pulling the other end tight just means that one hand can then wind, another can keep the string tight at the nut to avoid "loopiness" in the wind and also guide the wind to the bottom of the post.

Whatever works to get the winding done cleanly and without any binding or overlap.

jbudweiser

Post subject: Re: Rickenbacker Maintenance and Tips

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:10 am

Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 5:52 pmPosts: 1007Location: Australia

I own 2 Ric's both are in minty condition, I honesty play my other guitars, but I always seem to gravitate to using the 2 Rickenbacker's. Superior tone is what I hear every time.

As they are in such good condition and I seem to use them frequently, I want to look after them. The vintage guitars I have and all guitars I have I maintain as well as possible

I don't own too many, that would be a problem as the weather is warm and humid where I live. The more you own the more you must maintain, In these humid conditions you have to check and maintain a guitar that is just left in it case even if you don't use it very often.

Here are some good products to help maintain your beautiful Rickenbacker guitars

1) Lem-oil DR String fellow

2) Zymol car polish,,,if you have a MID (midnight blue) you can get the Zymol for darker finishes, it has a blue tint. Keep it in the fridge, but please don't let the children eat it. It smells so good a child could be tempted to eat it

3) Dunlop finish cloth, this cloth is 10 times better than anything else hands down. Not cheap at $20. But a super good investment. It's in a league of it own. Has anybody else used these?

3) Just tested this one to see if it fits Rickenbacker's, and it does. Dunlop ergo strap locks, these seem to work well! They are very cheap, they will stop you dropping a guitar due to the strap coming off. That's got to be worth $4

4) Ledbye idea (forum member from Australia)He has solved the buckle rash problem. He has suggested using a beer holder ( stubbie holder ) You cut it to shape and attach velcro to it, it is then wrapped around your belt buckle, and you won't get a rash. I would also wear a t shirt as well. He has provided pictures on another post **Guitar condoms** ( he calls it the Ric O back saver)Great idea , worth a look

By the time most Ric's get to other countries outside the USA, the cost can almost double, and they are hard to get and therefore we are proud to own them and tend to look after them

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